1. Field
The present embodiments relate to graphics rendering techniques. More specifically, the present embodiments relate to platform-independent techniques for rendering user interface elements in web applications using hardware-accelerated graphics.
2. Related Art
Computer systems often include a number of native applications that require complex three-dimensional (3D) scenes to be rendered, such as computer games and computer-aided design (CAD) systems. To render 3D scenes, these native applications may use graphics application programming interfaces (APIs) that direct calculations related to graphics rendering to dedicated graphics processing units (GPUs). The additional computational power provided by these GPUs can greatly improve graphics quality and throughput.
The computational power of GPUs may also be used to render user interface (UI) elements in native applications. In particular, native applications may utilize graphics hardware acceleration to render UI elements such as text, windows, menus, icons, buttons, scrollbars, and/or toolbars. Furthermore, the graphics hardware acceleration may allow the native applications to implement UI features such as two-dimensional (2D) and 3D UI elements, anti-aliasing, vector graphics, overlay of 2D content on 3D surfaces, animation, geometric transformations, and/or hardware-accelerated text rendering.
Web applications, which have become more prevalent in recent years, are typically written in scripting languages that are unable to utilize low-level graphics APIs that provide graphics hardware acceleration. Instead, graphics rendering for web applications is typically performed by CPUs instead of GPUs. The software-based nature of web-based graphics rendering may thus limit the graphics capabilities of web applications in both 2D and 3D rendering. However, unlike native applications, web applications provide a number of advantages. For example, web applications are capable of executing on multiple platforms, do not require installation, and can be more secure than native applications.
Hence, what is needed is a platform-independent, web-based graphics rendering system that enables graphics hardware acceleration for web applications.